ISLAMABAD: The Pak­istan Bar Council (PBC), the regulatory body for the legal profession, intends to invite all political parties to a “grand national dialogue” where proposals would be debated for steering the country out of the present political and economic quagmire.

Haroonur Rashid, the council’s vice chairman, and Hasan Raza Pasha, who heads the PBC’s executive committee, briefed the media about their plans at the council’s office in the Supreme Court building on Tuesday.

They said the PBC did not support any political party, but its forum was available for political discourse to thrash out solutions for extricating the nation from a blind alley.

The idea to invite political leaders was debated during a recent meeting of the PBC and “we decided to request political leaders of all shades and hues to put their heads together and come out with a consensus solution to pull the country back from the brink”, said Mr Pasha.

He called upon major political parties to frame a new “charter of democracy” on the pattern of the one agreed upon by the PML-N and the PPP in 2006.

The grand dialogue would be convened within weeks, Mr Pasha said. “Freedom of thought and expression is a fundamental right, but the discourse should remain within the bounds of decency and mutual respect.”

Both Mr Rashid and Mr Pasha emphasised that time was running out fast and “everything seems to be slipping away”.

It was the need of the hour that the political leadership realise the gravity of the situation and sink differences to ride out the storm, they added.

Referring to the ‘misuse’ of Section 124A of the Pakistan Penal Code, which deals with sedition, Mr Pasha said the colonial-era law had always been abused for political victimisation.

The section was invoked against PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry last week.

The PBC has reservations over the way this section was “abused to curb dissent”.

It not only violated fundamental rights but also brought bad name to the country, Mr Pasha said.

“Voters are the best judge to determine who is a traitor. If someone is a traitor, the voter will simply reject him.”

Published in Dawn, February 1st, 2023